Trump being criticized for defending 'killer' Putin

(NBC News) Travelers from seven targeted countries are entering the United States once again after a federal judge issued a stay Friday blocking President Donald Trump's controversial travel ban.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is deciding whether to uphold the ban.

"The president violated the Constitution in very fundamental ways, and that's impacting thousands of people across our country and frankly that's not right," argues Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson, one of those challenging the ban in court.

Among those urging the court to strike down the ban are former national security officials, mostly Democrats, and nearly 100 prominent tech companies. They argue the ban could do long term damage and make our troops less safe.

Meanhile, the president is being criticized for his remarks defending Russian President Vladimir Putin during a Fox News interview.

When Putin was described as "a killer" Mr. Trump responded "There are a lot of killers. We've got a lot of killers. What do you think - our country's so innocent?"

"One can argue that's the most anti-American statement ever made by the President of the United States," says NBC military analyst General Barry McCaffery.

Now that we're getting into the second half of August, it's the the time of year when we really start to monitor the far eastern Atlantic for budding tropical waves that could potentially develop into tropical storms or hurricanes.